STOP EVERYTHING: This 90's Disney Mashup is Brilliant!

I'm a huge fan of Todrick Hall. I remember seeing him audition on American Idol way back when and thinking, this guy's got something. A few years after that his Target flash mob catapulted his viral fame and with each video (usually because they are Disney-eque) I feel this odd sense of pride of the work he is doing! He is a true role model for never giving up and not letting a closed door stop you from following your dreams!

This latest video has everything I love - Disney, 90's Jams, and former Wicked cast members!

Enjoy!


Craving another taste of Disney? Grab the recipe for my Grand Marnier Slushie from Epcot! Just click the photo below!

The Grey Stuff Recipe: Cookies N' Cream Mousse

Yum

As promised in an earlier post, I’ll be continuing to recap my trip to Walt Disney World and Food Blog Forum a few more times. This post was inspired by my highly anticipated dining experience at Be Our Guest located in the New Fantasyland inside Magic Kingdom. As I’m sure you know by now, not only am I a “Disneyaholic” but I also share the name of a beloved character from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast… Mrs. Potts. That’s why it was only fitting that I find a way to eat at the new magical restaurant. Now mind you, Be Our Guest is the hardest restaurant to get a reservation at in WDW. It books up 180 days in advance! That’s why when I heard that they were doing a special walk-in lunch service, I had to try it out.

On our last day in Disney, The Mr. and I decided to try our luck and went over to Be Our Guest to put our name on the waiting list for lunch. To our surprise, the host told us that there was no list, just about a 15 minute wait if we wanted to do the quick service option. Um, YES! Within 15 minutes we had ordered our lunch and found a table in the grand ballroom and our French Dip sandwiches were brought over to us about 5 minutes later! I’ll say that for “quick service” Disney food, this sandwich was wonderful!

One thing that Be Our Guest has become known for is serving “The Grey Stuff”. Unfortunately, that is something they only serve at dinner… but fortunately for you, it inspired the following recipe!

What To Wear in Disney!

If you follow along on social media, you may have seen that I’ll be heading back to Walt Disney World to attend this year’s Food Blog Forum conference. For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it is the coming together of some of the top Food Bloggers from around the country (Check out my recap from the last time I went, here) .
To give you an idea of the brevity this conference has, if you didn't log on to register at 10:59:58 (registration opened at 11:00am) you were out of luck. Yup, it sold out in 2 SECONDS FLAT!! Clearly the pixie dust was on my side because by some miracle, I made it in to the registration page and the rest is history.

Now, it’s no secret that I have a love affair with all things Disney. I mean I've worked for "The Mouse", had a Disney shrine in my basement as a child, and there’s even rumors that I may have been conceived in Disney World, so it’s only natural that I take advantage of every opportunity that involves The Happiest Place on Earth. That being said, this will be my 36^th trip to Walt Disney World… yeah I know. A little nuts. But, again, I worked for the company for 6 years! The rest… I got no excuse :-P

Anyway! After receiving the confirmation notice for Food Blog Forum (FBF) I instantly started planning my wardrobe.What.... that's not normal?

However, I felt that this time, things were a little different. Being an Annual Pass holder here in SoCal for Disneyland, I've become very aware of how important it is to remain cool and comfortable while gallivanting around the parks but God forbid you sacrifice the cuteness level of an outfit, right!? During my past few trips to the park I've paired some of my black workout pants with Disney-esque tops and have been comfy from the time I set foot in the park until the last firework goes off. You may not realize this but you can clock some pretty solid mileage during a typical Disney trip. My record so far is 18,000 steps in one day! Thank you, FitBit!

This got me thinking… what if I put together some super cute, yet comfy outfits that are inspired by my favorite Disney characters?? I've seen tons of people in the parks wearing their “cosplay” outfits and other Disney-inspired duds, so why not? I mean we've all see the adorable outfits put together on Pinterest!

photo courtesy of Pinterest

So when I think cute, comfortable, and resilient (I mean the parks are open for over 12 hours, people) I instantly thought of my favorite activewear brand, Lorna Jane! With over 100 new styles released every month, there was no shortage of options when it came to piecing together these outfits!

Here are a few of my favorite combos:

Inspired by Frozen

Shop This Look:

Destiny Zip Up

Michie Bra

Rebellion Tights

Excel Zip Up

Archer Tank

Core Stability Tights (Similar and On Sale!)

Continue reading more and enter to win a Lorna Jane tank!

Inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas

Shop The Look:

Destiny Zip Up (similar)

Tank

Tigress Tights

Inspired by Minnie Mouse

Shop This Look:

Mercury Jacket (Similar and On Sale!)

Kody Bra

Amy Tights (Similar)

Tieks

Inspired by Disney's Animal Kingdom

 

Shop This Look:

Feline Biker Jacket

Feline Tights (Similar)

Quilted Cheetah Top (Only Available in AUS)

Cheetah Tieks

Inspired by Sleeping Beauty

Shop This Look

Daria Hoodie (Similar)

Mika Bra

Skillful Tights

To see more Disney Inspired Looks I created along with my blogger bestie My Baking Heart, follow along on Pinterest here:

Follow Kasey's Kitchen's board Foodies Shedding Booties on Pinterest.

Score a Lorna Jane Inspiration Tank by entering the contest below! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Bit More Disney! FBF Recap Part 2

So as some of you know, I had the chance to spend last weekend in Walt Disney World at the Food Blog Forum 2013 Conference.

Take 100 of the most talented Food Bloggers from all over the country, stick them in the happiest place on earth and what do you get? You are about to find out...

You can read about my journey getting to the conference here.

I had spent the night prior to the conference at another Disney hotel with Heather of Heather Likes Food. She and I hit it off right away, which is a good thing because she was in store for "Kasey's Disney Whirlwind Tour". This is an event that can easily make or break any friendship.

We raced over to Disney's Grand Floridian first thing Friday morning (with the Jefferson's theme song in our heads). I mean, can you get a load of this place. As I like to call it... The Ritz Carlton of Disney World.

Does anyone recognize that piano?? Hint: Think TGIF!

After we received our official FBF 2013 badges it was up to the monorail to hit up Epcot. A land of rides, innovation and food from around the world. Yeah, this is pretty much the number one park for a foodie. 

After a spin on the new Test Track, lunch at The Land and a Grand Mariner Slushie in France, it was time to head back to the hotel and freshen up before the Welcome Reception.

Heather and I playing in "Paris", Lemon Tarts, Grand Marnier Slushies and Mrs Potts!

We bolted back to the hotel in time to get situated in our rooms and I had the chance to meet my new roomie. Alicia (Alicia Carlson Photography) and I were assigned to room together and come to find out, we both majored in Broadcast Journalism at Emerson College and had plenty of stories to share about one grueling professor. I guess it really is a small world after all! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Alicia and I at the conference. Making Marsha proud!

We enjoyed a brief reception in the Convention Center lobby which felt like a Meet and Greet of all the wonderful people I've been chatting with the few months leading up to the event. We were presented with a selection of intricate dishes that are offered at Disney's Grand Floridian. I wish I had a bit more time to enjoy the food but it was hard to chat and chow down at the same time.

Shortly after, it was time for me to hop on the Disney Transportation bus to MGM (Disney Hollywood Studios - but I refuse to call it that) for an intimate dinner hosted by Glam Media and Foodie.com at The Brown Derby. It was wonderful to have the chance to talk to a group of bloggers on a smaller scale and learn more about the opportunities that are out there for us. We enjoyed a number of elaborate appetizers and I even had my first bite of Bison!

Jessica (My Baking Heart) and I enjoying our specialty cocktails up top and of course a fun group shot!

The Conference Day started bright and early at 8am and was non-stop until 5:30. It was PACKED with information and inspiration from FBF founders Jaden and Scott Hair (Steamy Kitchen), Todd Porter and Diane Cu (White On Rice Couple). We were also brought up to date with the latest technology for food bloggers thanks to Elise Bauer (Simply Recipes) and Babette Papaj (Bake Space). Conference coordinators Julie Deily (The Little Kitchen) and Lindsay Landis (Love and Olive Oil) joined a panel with David Leite (Leite's Culinaria) and Jeff Houck (Tampa Bay Tribune) to discuss building a community with your blog and keeping your authentic voice. 

Since this is a Food Blog conference, you didn't think they were going to make us starve, did you?? Disney presented us with a whimsical spread of their revamped Kid's Menu. For someone who was born with an elaborate palate I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed but I can see what they were going for. The presentation was fantastic, 100% Disney all the way, but the bland flavors on each dish made me wrinkle my nose. The one standout for me however was the Turkey Pot Pie which can be found at Cinderella's Royal Table. That was packed with flavor and made me want a second helping!

How adorable is the presentation of these dishes from Disney!?

After the conference sessions wrapped and all the prizes were raffled off (Thanks Kitchenaid and Oxo!) it was time to dart back over to MGM for a private dessert reception and Fantasmic. I had the pleasure of hanging with these lovely ladies for the night!

Diana (The Kitchen Prep), Jessica (My Baking Heart), Yours Truly, Alicia (Alicia Carlson Photography), Heather (Heather Likes Food), Annelies (The Food Poet)

Of course Disney put out a wonderful spread of sweets and treats.... and a cordial bar. Amaretto on the rocks please!



Now I do have to confess, a few of the girls and I decided to ditch the Fantasmic show (I've seen it dozens of times) and hit up a few rides. I opted for my favorites, The Great Movie Ride and Rockin' Rollercoaster before the park closed!

Since I knew Magic Kingdom closed at 1am (!!!) I rounded up a few troops and made our way over there on the hunt for Dole Whip! We were able to hop on It's A Small World, The Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain before closing down the park a little after 1:30 :-)

 

Our group with our coveted Dole Whips! Thanks NoshOnIt for the pic!

The following morning I dragged my exhausted behind out of bed and made my way over to the brunch that was being hosted at Whole Foods Market Orlando. You could tell that the staff at WF put so much time and care into each dish! My favorite would have to be the pulled pork on habanero cornbread! YUM!

After brunch I was faced with the difficult decision... spend my three remaining hours at the hotel pool... or hit up Epcot. If you know me at all, you know what my answer was! I hit up Epcot with Alicia, Vijay and Charles for the quickest tour around the World Showcase I have ever experienced in my 35 times at Disney World. If you can believe it, we had time to hit every country, stop and eat in France and get stuck in a torrential downpour, all within 45 minutes! THAT was a record!

Even a downpour in Epcot could keep us from having fun!

In the end, the event that seemed like it took forever to happen was over in a flash (like most good things) and I made sure to savor every minute. I am so grateful for the knowledge I gained and the friends I made. I hope you all enjoy seeing the tips from the conference put into action over the next few months here on Kasey's Kitchen! To see all my photos from the trip, click here!

A Foodie Fantasy: My Time at Food Blog Forum 2013 [Part 1]

See all my Instagram Photos by searching the # above!

Once upon a time in a far away land filled with fancy cars and shining stars lived a girl who had a food blog. She would whip up recipes with a dash of this and a bit of that, creating magical spells for your taste buds.

One day, she opened up her trusty MacBook Spell Book and asked, "Google, Google on my Mac, show me events that of food, will not lack". In an instant, the perfect event was revealed, the Food Blog Forum Conference was being held in Walt Disney World. Now this was quite the perfect combination for this young lady for she has been in love with the "Happiest Place on Earth" for as long as she could remember. She thought to herself, "If this event doesn't scream, 'ME', then I don't know what does!?"

With that she set multiple alarms to insure she did not miss out on registration. When the fateful day came, she propped up her laptop to the event page in anticipation and the minutes were counting down... 3...2... Then, a beckoning call from afar, "Kasey, can you come help me with something?" her colleague exclaimed. She rushed through the task only to return to her computer and see the dreaded words, "SOLD OUT". Her heart was crushed and tears came to her eyes. "I never cry! What is wrong with me?" she thought to herself.
With her fingers crossed, she added her name to the wait list and carried on her day, feeling more deflated than a Macy's Parade balloon on Black Friday.

A few weeks later, a cartoon bird flew to her window...ok, it was an email... With a notice that a spot had opened up and it was here's if she wanted it!

Ok, now back to reality!

Behind the Apron: 5 Things You May Not Know About Me!

Saw this trend taking off in the blogging world from my friend Michelle at "Pink Champagne" and I decided to join along and share the 5 Things You May Not Know About Me!


1. I'm a Disney-a-holic. Ok, maybe you could have figured that out if you're a new follower. I've been to WDW, Disneyland and Disneyland Paris a collective 55+ times. But did you know that I used to work for Disney? I hosted "Kasey's Korner" (clearly I have a thing for alliteration) from ages 10-16 on Radio Disney nationwide, interviewing celebs and professional athletes while they were on tour or at events.

Oh... the awkward years! Hangin with Miss Britney Spears